Soup is a true wonder of alchemy. Together, water, onions and time turn water into broth, bland into savory and thin into thick. But for those results, process is critical: The finest soups layer flavors every step of the way. We will teach you about soup’s building blocks, then walk you through combining them with a basic recipe that will help you transform practically any ingredient into a simple, satisfying meal.

Equipment

A large, nonreactive (stainless steel or ceramic) soup pot or Dutch oven that can hold at least six quarts will allow for large batches.

Strain puréed soups through a round, sturdy fine-mesh sieve with a handle and tabs that will allow it to sit steadily on the edge of any pot or bowl.

An immersion blender will keep you from having to transfer hot soup from the pot to a blender. Look for one with a metal base, which will survive repeated dunkings in hot liquid.

The Sweethome, a product recommendations website owned by The New York Times Company, has a guide to the best immersion blenders.

The Soup Families

Before you start, picture the soup you want to sit down to, and let that guide you. There are three main types — brothy, chunky or puréed. No matter the kind, all soups follow a similar path to deliciousness: Aromatics and main ingredients go into a pot, a liquid is added and the whole thing is simmered until done.

Karsten Moran for The New York Times

From left, a brothy egg drop, a chunky chicken and bean, and a puréed butternut squash soup.

Brothy soups, like egg drop, consommé or matzoh ball, are best made right after you’ve cooked up a batch of homemade stock. Restraint is an essential ingredient; the best brothy soups taste clean and allow the nuanced flavors of a long-simmered stock to stand out. Keep it simple: Use a high proportion of liquid and limit how many, and how much of, other ingredients you add into the pot.

On the other hand, black bean soup, chowder, minestrone or any other chunky soup is defined by transformation. Flavors develop, vegetables soften, liquids reduce and starches thicken. As these soups simmer, their varied ingredients — choose three or four from the list of vegetables, grains, legumes, or bits of meat — coalesce into a whole that’s inexplicably greater, and more delicious, than the sum of its parts.

A puréed soup, such as a bisque, creamy tomato soup, or vichyssoise, is the paragon of refinement. Yet it’s deceptively simple to make. Start with a base of onions, then add one or two main ingredients and just enough liquid to cover. Simmer gently until done, then blend, taste and adjust the seasonings. Soon you’ll start to see the potential for a smooth, silky soup hidden within every vegetable and legume.

The Aromatics and Seasonings

Now that you’ve chosen your soup, you’ll want to start building its foundation. Choose a cooking fat based on the cuisine that inspired your choice: butter for a French soup, olive oil for an Italian one. And use the same thinking to select an aromatic base of chopped vegetables, whether versatile garlic and onions, classic mirepoix, Italian soffritto, or Southeast Asian shallots and ginger. (Need help chopping? Here’s our knife skills guide.) Then, select your seasonings, sticking to three or fewer to keep from muddying flavors.

• For a basic aromatic foundation, heat 4 tablespoons of a neutral-tasting oil, like grapeseed or peanut, or olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add 2 diced medium yellow onions and a generous pinch of salt. (If you want to work in a little meatiness, start the pot off with 4 ounces finely diced bacon or pancetta and 2 tablespoons of water over low heat. When the water is gone and the meat is rendered, reduce the oil to 2 tablespoons and continue as above.) Stirring occasionally, cook until the onions are tender and the meat is just starting to brown. Add 3 cloves thinly sliced garlic and cook for another 20 seconds, just until the garlic gives off a savory aroma.

• For an Indian soup, turn a simple onion and garlic base into the foundation for an Indian soup by stirring 1 teaspoon cumin seed in with the garlic. Sizzle together for 20 seconds, then add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder.

Mirepoix

• When you’re not sure what to do, make mirepoix, the classic French aromatic base perfect for chicken soup, black bean soup and red chowder alike. The onions and carrots will add sweetness, while the celery subtly enhances umami. Cook these vegetables gently in butter and stir them regularly to keep them from taking on color for a light, vegetal soup foundation.

Melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add 2 diced medium yellow onions, 1 diced large carrot, 1 diced large rib of celery and a generous pinch of salt. (If you want to work in a little meatiness, start the pot off with 4 ounces finely diced bacon or pancetta and 2 tablespoons of water over low heat. When the water is gone and the meat is rendered, reduce the oil to 2 tablespoons and continue as above.) Cook until the onions are tender, and the meat is just starting to brown.

• For traditional French flavors, add a few peppercorns, a bay leaf and a bundle of fresh parsley stems and thyme sprigs to any soup that starts with mirepoix.

Soffritto

• Soffritto, similarly made with onions, carrots and celery, is the Italian equivalent of mirepoix. However, there are a few important differences between the two. For one, soffritto begins with olive oil, rather than butter, to give it a classic Italian flavor. It should be finely chopped, rather than diced, to allow it to disappear into the soup rather than stand out visibly. And lastly, soffritto should be caramelized, making it a savory, rich foundation. Use it for zuppa, minestrone, pasta e fagioli and any other Italian soup.

Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add 2 chopped red onions, 1 chopped large carrot, 1 chopped large rib of celery and a generous pinch of salt. (If you want to work in a little meatiness, start the pot off with 4 ounces finely diced bacon or pancetta and 2 tablespoons of water over low heat. When the water is gone and the meat is rendered, reduce the oil to 2 tablespoons and continue as above.) Increase the heat to medium-high, and, stirring regularly, cook until the onions are tender and caramelized and the meat is brown.

• For classic Tuscan flavors, add a bay leaf and a bundle of fresh rosemary and sage to a soffritto base. Or skip the herbs and add 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander and some freshly ground black pepper.

• For Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese flavors, skip the onions, carrots and celery, and look to shallots, ginger and lemongrass. Commonly found in dishes throughout mainland Southeast Asia, these elements create a vibrant, intensely flavored aromatic base.

Heat 4 tablespoons of a neutral-tasting oil over medium heat. Add 3 diced shallots, a sliced 2-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, 1 stalk of lemongrass cut into 3-inch pieces and a generous pinch of salt. Cook until the shallots are barely tender. Remove the lemongrass before puréeing or serving.

• For sweetness and umami in a Vietnamese soup, sneak 3 tablespoons fish sauce and a large pinch of brown sugar into a base of shallots, ginger and lemongrass.

• For a rich and spicy Thai soup, add 6 to 8 tablespoons of red or green Thai curry paste and a large pinch of white sugar to a base of shallots, ginger and lemongrass.

The Stock or Broth

Once you’ve built up your soup’s foundation with aromatics and seasonings, it’s time to add a stock or broth. No single element in a soup wields as much influence on its taste as its liquid. You will want about a cup per serving: a little more for a brothy soup, a little less for a hearty one. Use 8 cups for a large batch (about 6 to 8 servings), and freeze the leftovers for up to 2 months. You will thank your past self for your generosity and foresight.

Karsten Moran for The New York Times

To paraphrase the food writer M.F.K. Fisher, there is a slippery slope from water to soup. If you have water around, you can have soup. Use water when you’re after clean, light flavors rather than rich ones, or when you don’t have any stock on hand.

Water is never a bad choice, but sometimes stock is a better one, especially if your goal is to make a hearty, savory soup. Avoid canned and boxed stocks. Made with a lower ratio of bones and packed with ingredients — like cabbage, turmeric extract or yeast extract — that you would never add to a pot of stock yourself, they never taste quite right. Instead, either make and freeze stock or buy good quality fresh or frozen stock from a butcher. It will make all the difference.

Other Flavorful Liquids

If you’re hoping to make miso, ramen or any other Japanese soup, skip the aromatics and start with dashi. This broth of kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes is at the base of most Japanese home cooking, and it couldn’t be simpler to make. Place two 12-inch pieces of kombu in a saucepan with 3 cups of cold water. Bring the water to a boil and remove the kombu, then add two generous handfuls of dried bonito flakes, or katsuobushi. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat. Strain and use as you like.

Don’t forget to usebean cooking broth and the juice that comes with canned tomatoes. Both will lend terrific flavor and body to a minestrone or bean soup. For a velvety vegetable soup or seafood chowder, replace some of the water or stock with dairy — preferably heavy cream, which can withstand some cooking without curdling.

Or, to evoke the flavors of South India or Thailand, use full-fat coconut milk.

Whether you use stock or water, or add dairy, bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer to finish cooking.

This recipe for an intense, lovely chicken stock is full of deep flavors and provides a perfect base for soup. Feel free to use leftover bones from roast chicken, but at least half of the bones should be raw. Ask your butcher for feet, heads and wings, which are all high in gelatin and will lend body to the stock. Once cooled, freeze the stock in old 32-ounce yogurt containers, which have the added benefit of being premeasured.

The Main Ingredients

You’re almost there! After diligently building layer upon layer of flavor, there’s the payoff of adding the ingredients that inspired you to make soup in the first place. Add them to the pot raw, so they can release flavor into the soup. Bring it all to a boil, then simmer. You will know it’s done when it’s all tender, anywhere from 25 minutes to 3 hours depending on the ingredients.

Meat is a luxurious addition to any soup. When you can, choose stewing cuts, such as chicken legs, pork shoulder, beef chuck, short ribs or shank. Rich with fat, these cuts will add body and flavor as they simmer.

• For a soup that’s rich with bites of chicken, add a 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, or 2 pounds of boneless chicken to a mirepoix base. Add enough water or stock to cover and simmer until the meat is tender, about 10 minutes for white meat and 45 minutes for dark meat. Remove the cooked meat from the pot and allow it to cool. Pick the meat from the bones and shred it into bite-size pieces. Chop the skin. Add the meat and skin back to the pot and return to a simmer. Add any remaining soup ingredients and cook until tender. Use a ladle to gently skim fat from the surface of the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

• To make pozole, sauerkraut soup or any other soup with pork, add 2 pounds cubed boneless pork shoulder to an onion-garlic base. Add seasonings and enough water or stock to cover and simmer until the meat is tender, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove the cooked meat from the pot and allow it to cool. Shred the meat, removing any gristle or very fatty bits as you go. Add the meat back to the pot and return to a simmer. Add any remaining soup ingredients and cook until tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

• For a satisfying beef soup, cook a mirepoix or soffritto base and set it aside in a bowl. Return the soup pot to medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When it shimmers, add 3 pounds of beef osso buco (shank) or cubed short ribs, or 2 pounds of cubed chuck in a single layer. Cook for about 4 minutes per side until evenly golden brown on all sides. Add browned meat to the bowl of vegetables. Carefully discard cooking fat and return pot to stove over medium heat. Add 1 cup white wine to deglaze, scrape thoroughly with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits, and return the vegetables and meat to the pot. Cover with water or stock, and simmer until the meat is tender and falling off the bones, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove the cooked meat from the pot and allow it to cool. Shred the meat, removing any bones, gristle or very fatty bits as you go. Add the meat back to the pot and return to a simmer. Add any remaining soup ingredients and cook until tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

Grains, Pasta and Bread

Add grains, pasta or bread to a brothy soup to transform it from a light meal to a hearty one. Watch and stir starchy simmering soups attentively, since they tend to stick and scorch. Stand at the ready to add more liquid if the grains or pasta absorb too much.

• To lend chewiness and texture, add 1 cup uncooked rice, farro or barley to a pot of chicken soup when the liquid comes to a boil. Cook until the grains are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.

Add 4 ounces fresh or dried egg noodles, cut into 3-inch pieces, or 3/4 cup uncooked orzo, tubetti or other small pasta shape to any brothy soup 15 to 20 minutes before the soup is expected to be done. Stirring occasionally, cook until the noodles are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.

• For a bread soup, stir 2 cups diced stale bread into minestrone or bean soup about 20 minutes before the soup is expected to be ready. Stirring occasionally, cook over low heat until the bread falls apart. Bread soup should be quite thick, so resist the urge to thin it too much. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.

Beans

Whether pinto, navy, black or borlotti, dried beans will grow tough while cooking in the presence of acidic ingredients, such as tomatoes, so cook them on their own before setting out to make bean soup. If you can’t wait for dried beans to cook, make up a pot of lentils before you get the aromatics going. They’ll be done by the time the onions are cooked. (Need help cooking beans? Check out The Times’s bean guide.) Alternatively, drain and rinse a few cans of cooked beans.

• To make a bean or lentil soup, add 4 to 6 cups cooked beans or lentils and their broth to a base of mirepoix or soffritto. Simmer for at least 20 minutes, until the beans begin to fall apart and their released starches begin to thicken the soup. Purée if desired and thin with more liquid as needed to reach desired consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

Vegetables

While you can make a soup with any vegetable, the best-tasting produce will always yield the brightest flavors. Choose in-season or frozen vegetables and resist combining too many kinds — about three is just right — in a single soup. If you’re using vegetables with wildly different textures, stagger their additions to the pot in the order of their cooking times, from longest to shortest.

• For a hearty vegetable soup, add up to 4 cups of diced mixed vegetables, such as potatoes, bell peppers, broccoli rabe, fennel, kale and cabbage, to a mirepoix or soffritto base just before adding the liquid. Simmer until all the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

• For a puréed vegetable soup, add about 2 pounds of a trimmed, sliced, fresh or frozen vegetable, such as fennel, cauliflower, turnips, butternut squash, corn or English peas, to a tender onion-garlic base. Add enough liquid to cover and simmer until the vegetables are barely soft. Use a hand blender to purée and thin with more liquid as needed to reach desired consistency. For an extra silky soup, strain the purée through a fine sieve, stirring it with a ladle to encourage everything but the fibrous bits to pass through. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

This basic recipe can serve as a canvas for any kind of chunky soup. Mix and match ingredients to suit your cravings, using an aromatic base of onions and garlic, seasonings, flavorful stock (or water), and whatever main ingredients you choose. This recipe, like a similar one in Julia Turshen's cookbook "Small Victories," highlights soup's basic transformative qualities. With just a bit of time, ordinary ingredients can become an extraordinary winter meal for tonight, and for days to come. Covered in the refrigerator, it will last for up to five days, but it also freezes exceptionally well for up to two months. Just return it to a boil before using.

Preparation

Set a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat and add 4 tablespoons butter or oil. When the butter melts or the oil shimmers, add onions and garlic, and a generous pinch of salt.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender, about 15 minutes.

Place the meat, vegetables and other add-ins in the pot, along with the raw chicken (if using), and add enough liquid to cover. Season with salt. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Cook until the flavors have come together and the vegetables and greens are tender, about 20 minutes more. If you added raw chicken, remove it from the soup when cooked, allow to cool, shred and return to the soup. Taste and adjust for salt.

Add more hot liquid if needed to thin the soup to desired consistency. Taste and adjust for salt.

Serve hot, and garnish as desired.

Tips

For add-ins, you can use a combination of vegetables diced into 3/4-inch pieces (use one or more of carrots, fennel, celery, leeks, winter squash, potatoes or parsnips); cooked beans, lentils or chickpeas; up to 4 cups of sliced kale or green cabbage; or up to 3 cups of cooked, shredded chicken or pork, if not using raw chicken.

If desired, replace some of the liquid with bean broth, heavy cream, chopped tomatoes in their juices or full-fat coconut milk.

The Garnish

You’ve cooked up a hearty pot of soup, but you’re not done just yet. Before you sit down to eat, finish the bowl with a bright garnish. Think of it as an opportunity to both balance the flavors and textures of a soup and make it eye-catching.

• For creaminess and tang, garnish with a dollop of sour cream, yogurt or crème fraîche. Chopped herbs such as parsley, cilantro, chives or dill bring a fresh contrast to long-cooked flavors.

• A sprinkle of crushed toasted croutons or toasted sesame or pumpkin seeds will add a welcome crunch to a puréed soup.

• Crumbled cheeses, such as feta, ricotta salata or goat cheese, or any grated hard cheese such as Parmesan, pecorino or Asiago will finish a soup with a welcome bit of salty and tart flavors.

• Don’t be afraid to experiment. The spicy peanut and coconut topping, shown above, was inspired by a classic Thai bar snack. It simultaneously complements the flavors and introduces contrasting textures.

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